Manager, External Innovation - Medtech Surgery

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson · Pharma · Raritan, NJ +1

Manager, External Innovation - MedTech Surgery role at Johnson & Johnson focuses on driving the external innovation strategy for surgical technologies. This involves scouting, evaluating, and conducting technical due diligence on new technologies, startups, and academic collaborations. The role requires managing external partnerships, developing strategic roadmaps, and creating evaluation frameworks to inform early-stage technology decisions within the medical device industry.

What you'd actually do

  1. Develop and execute an external innovation strategy to identify high-potential technologies, startups, academic laboratories, and service providers aligned to commercial and technology targets.
  2. Evaluate external opportunities through an integrated technical and market lens (e.g., scientific validity, technology readiness, risk, timelines, and product market fit)
  3. Lead technical due diligence for licensing, collaboration, and investment opportunities, partnering with cross-functional stakeholders to prepare concise assessments for senior leadership.
  4. Design, coordinate, and execute evaluation frameworks (e.g., preclinical assays, in vitro methods, or equivalent) to de-risk early-stage technologies and inform go/no-go decisions.
  5. Manage external partnerships and vendors (e.g., CROs, contract developers, academic collaborators), including scopes of work, budgets, milestones, and governance.

Skills

Required

  • PhD in a scientific or technical discipline
  • Medical device industry experience
  • End-to-end product development
  • External innovation experience (scouting, partnerships, licensing, collaborations)
  • Ability to work at the interface of market and technology strategy
  • Translating market needs into technical requirements
  • Scientific judgment
  • Assessing technology fit, feasibility, and commercialization potential
  • Managing external vendors and collaborators
  • Defining scopes of work
  • Overseeing execution
  • Written and verbal communication skills
  • Producing clear technical and commercial materials for senior leadership
  • Influencing and leading cross-functional teams without formal authority
  • Basic understanding of preclinical, clinical, and regulatory requirements

Nice to have

  • Experience developing due diligence materials
  • Experience leading a team through development and approval of a PMA medical device
  • Demonstrated track record of designing testing strategies and endpoints to evaluate early-stage technology efficacy and safety
  • Experience building scientific communication packages

What the JD emphasized

  • PhD in a scientific or technical discipline (e.g., biology, chemistry, materials science, engineering, or related field) is required
  • Demonstrated experience in external innovation (scouting, partnerships, licensing, collaborations) for early- to mid-stage technologies is required
  • Proven ability to work at the interface of market and technology strategy, translating market needs into technical requirements and vice versa is required
  • Strong scientific judgment, with experience assessing technology fit, feasibility, and commercialization potential is required
  • Experience managing external vendors and collaborators, including defining scopes of work and overseeing execution is required
  • Basic understanding of preclinical, clinical, and regulatory requirements to support 510(k) and PMA product submissions and approvals is required